This post if for my soon to be disappointed brother because its not as exciting as it sounds but things happen…

I meant to go camping last weekend but every place I wanted to camp was calling for severe thunder and hail storms. Once again I didn’t hang out in Miles City but drove to Gillette but I did pull over on the interstate much to the annoyance of several truckers and took a picture of the welcoming gate!

From a distance….

ZOOM!

After I spent the night in Gillette I took the long way home which went by UCROSS. But….the BIG RED BARN was closed! There was a sign at the entrance so I didn’t go in. I just to a picture of the gate. I could have gone again today but the Bighorn Mountains and Cloud Peak Wilderness area were calling me. Springtime in the mountains are covered in blooms! But that if another post.

The rest of these are of the storm clouds. The wind was crazy and lightening was striking. Raindrops as big as pancakes were falling from the sky but no hail. The amazing thing about this part of the country is that the sky is so big the storms can’t cover it. They roll in with blue skies leading and following behind.

Of course this land should all be sagebrush and cactus but alfalfa is king

The first night of camping after winter is always the worst for me. I forget everything I need! This year it was my pillow and flashlight. Luckily Cody was only about fifteen miles away and I planned on going to the Cody Night Rodeo .

I didn’t want to camp in Cody because it was overly crowded with the weekend tourists and a Powwow (photos of that later too!), Mule Days(I don’t have time for everything!) in a town close by. However there was a fierce wind and the park guides thought I was crazy. I forgot my extra tie-downs for my tent so I just double staked the side getting hit. Once it was up it held fine.

The site had wind breaks but unfortunately the wind was coming at an angle that didn’t protect the tent. Although since it was the lowest sitting site the wind was least there but managed to blow my cover off a few times before I could get it situated right.

As soon as the tent was up I took off for the Cody Night Rodeo….stopped to take some photos of the Buffalo Bill Reservoir and clouds along the way.

This is the sunrise. I’m confused with directions in Wyoming I thought the sun would be coming up behind me!

These birds were having quite a celebration at daybreak.

I didn’t mess around I drank my morning coffee while packing my tent and took off I wanted to get a hike in before I went to the Powwow…this is the Shoshone River as it enters the Buffalo Bill Reservoir.